- Piazza della Maddalena 53 - 00186, Roma
- Tel. +39.06 899 28 151-2-3-4
- info@salutesviluppo.org
Tag Archives: #Africa
MANY ACHIEVEMENTS IN BOSSEMPTÉLÉ
Not many months have passed since we told you about our project Health and Nutrition for the Vulnerable Population of the Sub-Prefecture of Bossemptélé, which is part of the ‘Emergency Initiative in Support of the Vulnerable Population in the Central African Republic’ funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and whose aim is to improve the living conditions of the population of the Bossemptélé Sub-Prefecture, which is particularly tried by the instability in the country. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The Central African Republic has never enjoyed such tranquillity as to allow it to grow and prosper; on the contrary, it has had to contend with numerous coups d’état and as many dictators who, acting without scruples, have allowed the exploitation of the country’s resources, without a thought for the increasingly sacrificed population. The situation in recent years has been particularly difficult: rebel groups have clashed several times with state forces, causing violence and deaths, especially among the most vulnerable population.
In this complex context, the John Paul II Hospital played a key role, providing a point of reference for the population of the sub-prefecture. Despite the clashes and violence, the hospital has always continued to operate and provide support.
Our project starts with the John Paul II Hospital with the intention of increasing its capacity to respond adequately to the needs and requirements of the population. Before our intervention, the facility did not have a proper emergency room in which to receive urgent patients. Now the renovation and extension work on the premises is almost complete and by the end of the project – December 2022 – it is also planned to provide the emergency department with all the necessary furniture and machinery.
Another deficiency found within the hospital concerned the nutritional aspect: a triple problem considering that most of the patients are in a serious state of malnutrition upon admission, that food is necessary to ensure a proper course of treatment and rehabilitation, and that most of those who come from the neighbouring villages, once they arrive in the city, do not have the possibility of buying anything at the local market due to the excessively high prices.
For these reasons, it was decided to build a canteen to provide three full meals a day – based on cereals, meat or fish – for the in-patients, who can thus follow a correct diet and sufficient caloric intake to aid their recovery. The canteen service is also offered to relatives from afar who care for patients in severe need. Currently, more than 2250 meals per month are provided.
In order to improve the quality of the hospital’s services, it was necessary to train 38 in-service health workers in specialist disciplines such as obstetrics and ophthalmology. The training courses are already leading to a significant improvement in hospital performance.
One of the most ambitious components of our intervention is the strengthening of the medical centres located in the villages surrounding Bossemptélé, where services are almost non-existent. Thanks to the AICS-funded project, we have rehabilitated – or in some cases built from scratch – several postes de santé, each of which has a well with access to drinking water. The work is almost complete and the population of the villages of Gbawi, Bodangui, Bombalou and Yangoro already has access to basic health services, without having to make the journey to the city of Bossemptélé, unless strictly necessary for the treatment of more complex illnesses.
Not only qualitative reinforcement of the hospital and postes de santé, but also a mobile clinic service that, twice a week, visits the most difficult-to-reach villages, providing treatment and health education with awareness-raising meetings on prevention and first aid.
Thanks to the support of AICS, our work in the Central African Republic has reached new heights that we hope will mark the beginning of a better life for many people living in the sub-prefecture of Bossemptélé.
This article was produced within the framework of the project Health and Nutrition for the Vulnerable Population of the Subprefecture of Bossemptélé AID 05/RCA/12049/2021 funded by the Italian Development Cooperation Agency. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency. The Italian Development Cooperation Agency is not responsible for information that is considered erroneous, incomplete, inadequate, defamatory or in any way reprehensible.
A SCHOOL AND MANY NURSES
Our Project Director, Mariella, and Fr. Felice de Miranda, President of Salute e Sviluppo, went in the Central African Republic for the usual monitoring of ongoing projects in the country.
The area in which we are currently operating is part of the sub-prefecture of Bossemptélé, an area that is particularly poor and lacking in infrastructure. The only health centre in the area is the John Paul II Hospital, which, as we have repeatedly mentioned, was fundamental for the population, especially during the harshest periods of the civil war fought in the country.
On 1 January 2021, the Project to set up a nursing school: vocational training paths for improving health conditions in the Central African Republic, funded by the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), began.
The aim of this project is to complete, by 2023, a nursing school with the aim of training specialised personnel who can implement the services provided in the hospital. Besides the construction of the school, a fence and a well are also planned. At a later stage, furniture, computers and other materials will be purchased to meet the needs of the students who will undertake this certified and nationally recognised course of study, which will also make use of the synergy with the John Paul II Hospital for field placements.
If at the beginning of the year we showed you photos of the construction of the well and the beginning of the fence, we can now announce that construction work on the building is proceeding at a good pace, while work on the well and the fence has been completed. Thanks to this last mission, it was possible not only to ascertain the progress made, but also to help the local contact persons with the most optimal design of the facility, which is expected to be ready in a few months.
It makes us particularly happy that from the start of the project to date, the feedback from the population towards our initiative has been more than favourable: while in the first year 11 students enrolled, this year 25 students will be selected out of 30 applicants who applied by taking the school’s admission test. All the teachers are university professors from Bangui, who teach the classes to a high standard, at the end of which a diploma is awarded – after a positive assessment by the examination board – which is valid in the entire country.
In addition, the health workers of the postés de santé of the villages in the area will also participate in the lessons next school year, as the Central African government has stipulated that all public health personnel must increase their level of competence. The government authorities have identified our nursing school as the right place for their theoretical and practical training and will take charge of their preparation.
In addition to increasing staff and hospital standards, the project also aims to increase social inclusion and help many young people integrate constructively into society.
Since the beginning of the year, progress has been remarkable, and it is only a short time before the structure is completed. These achievements make us all the more proud, considering the situation in the Central African Republic, which still suffers from a situation of very strong instability that undermines the possibility of improvement and growth. We hope to give you many more happy updates on our activities!
The emotion of the mission: Mariella
Mariella, would you like to tell us how you approached the world of international cooperation and the third sector?
At the end of my high school studies in Sardinia, I moved to Forlì to continue my training. I have always been interested in what was happening on the international scene and so I chose to attend the degree course in International and Diplomatic Sciences. During the last years of my university career I specialized in the subject of human rights, discussing a thesis on the different reaction of the international community with respect to the cases of Kosovo and Chechnya.
Subsequently, I moved to Rome to attend a master’s degree in International protection of human rights, carrying out an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this experience I approached the world of Non-Governmental Organizations and seeing their work, my interest in the world of the third sector became stronger.
Later, I earned another master’s degree in Project Manager of international cooperation and during the internship experience I came into contact with Salute e Sviluppo, where – after a professional interlude in Spain – I started working permanently.
What do you do at Salute e Sviluppo?
I was immediately involved in the design and management of projects, since 2013 I have also been in charge of the general administration of SeS.
What did you like about Salute e Sviluppo as an organization?
I immediately liked Salute e Sviluppo both for the stimulating and sociable working environment in the office in Rome, and for the type of projects. They are continuous over time.
Often, once a project has been completed, there is no subsequent control over the territory. The sustainability of Salute and Sviluppo projects over time is instead guaranteed by the fact that it avails itself of the support and assistance of the Camillians in the various countries of intervention, who – regardless of the duration of the project – will always be present in the area for their mission, that is health support for the most vulnerable sections of the population With SeS we can improve their hospital services or build new ones.
Also, I strongly appreciate the multicultural and inter-religious exchange. I observed during the missions how people who often profess a different religion work alongside the missionaries. There is a lot of mutual respect and esteem, as well as full cooperation.
What prompted you to choose to leave for the various missions?
As said before, my passion for the third sector was born during my university career, where I approached subjects that dealt with human rights. Then the transition was natural: after having dealt with the defense of human rights, with ministerial bureaucracy, I realized that I needed something more. I felt the need to concretely see the work in the field, get to know the beneficiaries, see the activation of services. I can summarize that my eyes needed to see what I was projecting on paper.
What excites you about your work?
I am thrilled to see the birth and the end of something: to be able to leave on site and see a space where there is nothing … go back and be able to observe its transformation. For example, in one of my first missions, in Benin, I was thrilled to see – after more than a year from the start of the project – how an arid and isolated land had turned into a properly functioning hospital and had also become a center of aggregation.
It is wonderful to see how the project of Salute e Sviluppo, whether large or small, have a concrete impact on the life of the beneficiaries, transforming and improving it.
Leave for countries where the conditions you find are not the easiest. Is it tiring for you?
Surely you need to have a great spirit of adaptation. It serves both for the conditions of daily life and for situations of loneliness that sometimes have to be faced.
Let me explain better .. when you go on a mission you don’t spend most of your time in a big city, where you have the opportunity to meet co-workers or people who work in different sectors from countries all over the world. The stay in the capital usually lasts only a few days. It is a moment of transition before immerging myself fully in the real local context.
Our projects are found above all in the most fragile and isolated areas of a country. Consequently, we find ourselves in villages where there are hardly any other “expatriates” and / or there is no security to be able to go out alone.
What aspect do you like about the missions?
Without a doubt the meeting with the local population. In large cities they are used to the arrival and presence of foreign personnel, there is more movement. In small villages, which have no relations with the outside world, people are welcoming, joyful. children are curious, hospitable, they want to touch you, chat and play with you.. , everyone says hello, but above all there is a strong community spirit in which everyone knows each other. It is truly amazing to feel this human warmth.
In which country did you find more difficulties?
I believe the Central African Republic. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, where the main difficulty is the lack of means to work, but it is also the country that has remained in my heart the most.
While in Burkina Faso today there is a big security problem. Compared to my first missions, from 2010 to today I have seen a notable change in the country: from really quiet to rather dangerous due to the terrorist attacks that have sometimes hit the capital and especially the north and east of the country since 2016.
What about the other continents?
I have served missions in Peru and Vietnam.
In both cases, I was impressed by the close coexistence between high living standards and poverty even more evident than in some African countries. For example, in Lima, Peru, this diversity stands out in an overwhelming way: from one corner of the same neighborhood to the other, the scenario you encounter changes completely.
The experience in Vietnam was also strong: we move from developed and tourist metropolises such as Hoc Chi Minh to villages in the south of the country where poverty is extremely high.
A new school in Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, in Tenkodogo area, education is a right for few people. The lack of facilities and classrooms does not allow the large number of children living in the area to attend school and continue their studies.
In 2018, in order to provide of this lack thanks to funding from the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) with 8X1000 funds, the project “Post-primary and secondary school for the minors of Tenkodogo” was launched.
The initiative, ended on August 31th 2020, made possible the construction and the equippment of a post-primary and secondary school and the start of the courses.
The school has two floors: on the ground floor there are the classrooms dedicated to post-primary courses and on the upper floor the classrooms dedicated to secondary courses.
The post-primary course lasts 3 or 4 years and trains pupils for secondary education or professional life, concluding with a diploma at the end of basic education.
The secondary course, on the other hand, lasts 3 years and ends with the award of the BAC diploma (premier diplôme universitaire) with which boys and girls can access university courses.
In this way, 480 students, who have completed their primary education at neighbouring schools, have the opportunity to continue their studiesat post-primary and secondary level.
Alongside school activities, an awareness and information campaign was also launched in the surrounding schools to encourage pupils to enrol in post-primary school, with the involvement of their parents. Parents showed their awareness of the importance for their children to continue their studies.
pictures were taken before the Covid-19 emergency